Thursday, January 24, 2013

Giant Squid Cycling Endorphins Hallucination?

But if I can photograph it it may not be a hallucination...unless it's a very consistent / persistent one

After kicking my cold or parainfluenza or whatever that thing was, I was just experiencing the wondrous return of that general feeling of "HEY I'M HEALTHY" that really can make my day, in contrast to the opposite state of not feeling like that when I'm sick, and then the weather kicked it up three notches with sunshine and 80 degrees in the afternoon. Which means, all things considered, I was feeling kind of naturally high as a kite, when I was out riding my bike. Everything was feeling groovey, the legs were spinning along nicely, when I glanced down in the canal and noticed the giant red squid down there. Uh oh. Maybe I overdid the cycling endorphins just a bit.

Down in the Arizona canal was a giant red squid shooting ink and catching a large fish. First time in the universe for that sentence.

I'm sure there's a good explanation, maybe if I just ride a little longer in the fresh air, my mind will clear out and my vision will return to....whoa. Dude.

So I did the safe thing, parked my bike beside the canal, and had a brief conversation with the bright blue cephalopod with the piercing yellow eyes.

"Er, excuse me, Mr. Pod, I can only think that I should break off my commute to work, go home, grab a book by Gertrude Stein, or perhaps selected Hunter S. Thompson or early Tom Wolfe, and come back and read to you. I don't know, you look like an Aldous Huxley man to me," I psychically burbelled in the general direction of the bright blue cephalopod."Island, yes of courrrrsssssee," he psychically burbelled back at me, as only a bright blue cephalopod hallucination can.

Attention. Attention.

Pardon me, good sir, have you got the time, got the time, got the time, got the time??? Hmmmm?

Thankfully, I found the sign which explained that this was not all in my mind (only), but also was actually evidence of local artists Isaac Caruso (monOrchid mural guy!) and Ashley Macias diving into their work on "Canal Creatures" during the dry-up. Fear not, my dream-vehicle Amur carp, the paint is eco-friendly. These photos are just a few samples of what they're doing out there, which looks pretty remarkable. Particularly from the vantage of an endorphin-soaked 80F January bike ride. Oh, the colors.

meli the work they did down in the canal is amazing, and I love the imagination that sees the blank wall of a canal during a maintenance period and says, "That wall needs some gorgeous sea creatures on it." I'll imagine the creatures down there, under the water, when it returns.

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Let's Just Ride

I commute by bicycle in Phoenix, Arizona, a metropolis suited to riding bicycles of all types, with weather, mountains, roads, canals, and paths to keep me forever spinning. My favorite bike tools are an open mind, creative engagement, curiosity, compassion, common ground, and the search for knowledge.

Email feedback, corrections, or random thoughts to gmail : johnromeoalpha . Or leave a comment, they are always appreciated.

Tarik Saleh Bike Club Webstore and such
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[image: Tarik Saleh Bike Club has a webstore now. In stock with caps
patches and pins.]
Yo! I got Tarik Saleh Bike Club caps, pins and patches in stock and ...